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Monday, March 30, 2009

". . . Thus was his fair dawn of life, whilst his cloudless sun was nearing its meridian, in a moment veiled in the shades of death. . . . As the stars of heaven shine brighter at the close of day when the shades of evening gather over the earth, even so do his virtues beam with brighter lustre from the darkness of the silent tomb: and long shall it be ere there shall cease to be found in memory's waste, a green spot watered by the tears of affection for him who is gone."

Centennial History of Harrison, Maine: Containing the Centennial Celebration of 1905, and Historical and Biographical Matter :: By Alphonso Moulton, Howard L. Sampson, Granville Fernald :: Published by the authority of the town, 1909 :: Original from Harvard University :: Digitized Aug 21, 2006 :: 727 pages

Sunday, March 29, 2009

May the road rise to meet you.May the wind be always at your back.May the sun shine warm upon your face;The rains fall soft upon your fieldsAnd, until we meet again,May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night . . . you -- only you -- will have stars that can laugh! . . . And when your sorrow is comforted (time soothes all sorrows) you will be content that you have known me. You will always be my friend. You will want to laugh with me. And you will sometimes open your window, so, for that pleasure . . . and your friends will be properly astonished to see you laughing as you look up at the sky! Then you will say to them, "Yes, the stars always make me laugh!" And they will think you are crazy. It will be a very shabby trick that I shall have played on you . . . It will be as if, in place of the stars, I had given you a great number of little bells that knew how to laugh. . . .

From "The Little Prince" written & drawn by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. I watched the new Lee Ann Rimes movie last night, and she made reference to this quotation. I had quoted "The Little Prince" eight years ago in a tribute to Dale Earnhardt (1951-2001) -- yes, we are NASCAR fans! And my husband races every weekend on Texas dirt tracks.

It is now nightand all is silent.I am here aloneand in silence all my past friendswith all my relationsfall heavy on my mind.

They all are gone,and I too must soon follow.

To be laid in the dust in the silent graveand there to be forever forgottenmakes the cold chills run over my whole body.

I have a hope beyond the grave.

That hope is that when I am consigned to my grave,someone on the earth might remember me.

From the Diary of Joseph KempApril 1, 1853

From The Tri-County Genealogical Society in Missouri. Found today while researching Cole Younger (a distant cousin), who died on this date in 1916. A fellow blogger once had this quote featured on their family history blog, stating that they first heard it on the BYU channel while watching the series, "Ancestors." I have not yet (as of 2009) found other references to a diary of a Joseph Kemp.